GAME DAY | Sabres – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

By
Sam Gerber
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Game Preview by Sam Gerber, Staff Writer
Last game: MTL 2  NSH  3 (SO) 

The Canadiens defense did all the scoring while Filip Forsberg potted two goals for the Predators. Antti Niemi played well but Pekka Rinne won the battle in a shootout.

For a complete recap: Canadiens – Predators: Habs Settle for a Moral Victory

Players to watch

  • Carey Price
    Price makes his return to the net after being out due to injury. His presence should calm the Habs players and give them extra motivation.
  • Jakub Jerabek
    Jerabek will be playing his first game at the Bell Centre after debuting for the Habs against the Predators.
  • Ryan O’Reilly
    O’Reilly got the lone goal for the Sabres in the last matchup and was dominant at the faceoff dot. Habs have to do a much better job at keeping O’Reilly in check.

Keys to Victory

  • Stay out of the box
    Neither team is proficient when it comes to special teams. The Canadiens will need to be disciplined and take advantage of their power-play opportunities.
  • Battle hard
    The Sabres are a hard-checking team that use their size to win puck battles. Habs will need to be hard on the pucks and use their speed.
  • Finish them off
    Buffalo is a team who like to hang around in games and comeback late in games. The Habs need to finish the Sabres early and get a good sized lead.
Matchup 
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | November 25, 7:00 PM ET | TV: SN, TVA, MSG-B

2017-18 statistics
SABRES CANADIENS
16 (30th) Points (rank) 19 (27th)
6-13-4 Record 8-12-3
3-6-3 Away/Home 4-5-2
2-6-2 Last 10 4-4-2
2.39 GF/G 2.30
3.43 GA/G 3.43
13.7 PP% 14.5
83.0 PK% 75.3
 47.55  CF%  53.15
 
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Kane – Eichel – Pominville
Pouliot – O’Reilly – Reinhart
Nolan – Josefson – Okposo
Girgensons – Larsson – Criscuolo		 Byron – Drouin – Galchenyuk
Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw
Hudon – Plekanec – Gallagher 
Deslauriers – De La Rose – Froese
Defensemen
Scandella – Ristolainen
McCabe – Antipin
Beaulieu – Falk		 Alzner – Petry
Benn – Morrow
Mete – Jerabek
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Moulson, Griffith, Gorges
Injured: Fedun, Tennyson, Bogosian		 Scratched: Davidson
Injured: Hemsky, Scherbak, Price, Montoya, Lehkonen, Weber
Goalies
Chad Johnson Carey Price
Record: 1-4-2
GAA: 3.59
Sv%: .885
SO: 0
Alternate: Robin Lehner		 Record: 3-7-1
GAA: 3.77
Sv%: .877
SO: 0
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect
Carey Price’s return should spark the team and they should come out with high energy. It will be important for the Habs to get a goal in the opening moments to keep the energy up. 

Prediction: Canadiens 3  Sabres 0 

The Sabres will keep pushing early in the game, but after playing yesterday they will come up empty in the third period against the Canadiens.
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